Tubular air heating furnace



Jana 1% 195@ 5 R WHWAKER 2,494,113

TUBULAR AIR HEATING FURNACE Filed Dec. 6, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet l Jan; 10, 1950 s. R. WHITAKER 2,494,113

TUBULAR AIR HEATING FURNACE Filed D80. 6, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

SAMUEL RWH \TAYKER Patented Jan. 10, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFKIE 2,494,113 r I TUBULAR AIR HEATING FURNACE Samuel R. Whitaker, Denver, Colo. Application December 6, 1944, Serial No. 566,854

1 Claim. (01. 12e 109)j This invention relates to improvements in fur- .naces and has reference more particularly to furnaces for dwellings of moderate size, although, of course, it can be made in any size desired.

In the heating of buildings, it is, of course, desirable to getas high efficiency as practicable and for this purpose the furnace should be so constructed that the heat units in the fuel are converted into heat for the building as efficiently as practicable.

It is the object of this invention to produce a furnace of a simple and substantial construction that shall be of such a design that the heating medium, either air or Water, shall be in position to absorb the maximum amount of heat from the Y gases of combustion.

Another object of this invention is to produce a furnace in which the heat loss, due to radiation, shall .be kept very low.

Another object of the invention is to produce a furnace of suchdesign that it can be installed at a comparatively smallcost.

A further object of the invention is to produce a furnace which shall be constructed of such material and in such a manner that it will have an exceptionally long life.

' A further object of the invention is to produce a furnace that shall be dustproof so that whatever fuel is being utilized will not soil the furnace room by permitting gases or dust to escape. 7

A further object of thisinvention is to produce a furnace that shall have a small size in comparison to its capacity.

The above and other objects that may become apparent as this description proceeds are attained by means of a construction and an arrangement of parts that will now be described in detail, and for this purpose reference will be had to the accompanying drawings in which the invention has been illustrated in its preferred form, and in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a furnace constructed in accordance with this invention, portions thereof being broken away and other portions shown in section so as to better disclose the construction;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the furnace shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a diametrical section taken on line 33, Figure 4; and

Figure 4 is a transverse section taken on line 4-4, Figure 3.

In the drawing reference numeral If! designates the floor or other support and reference numeral H designates an air intake manifold. In the present construction, the furnace will be shown and described as of circular cross section It is to be understood, however, that any other cross section can be employed. The intake manifold II has a bottom, I2 and a top plate 13. Four or more fiues M, have their lower ends welded or otherwise secured to the plate l3 and open-into the intake manifold. The upper ends of the iiues project into the hot air manifold l5. Thismanifold has a bottom plate [6 through which the fines extend and to which they are welded or otherwise secured. The hot air manifold can be constructed in the usual manner and has been shown as having a .frusto conical wall 11, that is welded or otherwise secured tothe bottom plate I6. A top Is .is secured to the upper edge of the frusto conical. wall and is preferably depressed so as toretain a quantity of sand or other heat insulating material. A flange 19 extends downwardly from the plate l6. Reference numerals 20 designate hot air pipes that extend to the different rooms to be heated. A humidifier pan 2| can be positioned in the hot air manifold and has been indicated diagrammatically only. The hot air dues are surrounded by a spiral baffle plate 22 that is held in position by means of brackets 23, or other equivalent securing devices. The assembly that has just been described is. enclosedin a cylindrical wall 24 that is built in place from fire brick. The separate bricks may be of any size desired and the number of bricks per circumference, as shown in Figure 4, is merely illustrative. The outer surface of the brick work may be covered with a coating 25 of heat insulating material, such as asbestos. Near the bottom is a fuel intake opening 26, which is inclined in a manner somewhat as shown in Figure 2. The nozzle 21, which introduces either gas or oil, is at such an angle that the fuel enters tangentially, and therefore it is given a motion in the direction of the arrow 28. From Figure 3 it will be seen that the opening 26 and the nozzle 2! are positioned beneath the lower spiral of the deflector plate. A flue 29 for the escape of the gases of combustion is positioned at the top of the brick work and underneath the upper spiral of the deflector. It will now be apparent that the gases of combustion will flow upwardly underneath the deflector and circulate about the hot air flues. This gives the gases a long path and brings them into intimate contact with the hot air flues. The fines are of comparatively small diameter and in a furnace of approximately 30 inches outside diameter, the flues have an inside 'stream of hot gases.

Attention is called at this point to the fact.v

that by the use of multiple flues positioned symmetrically about the center pmnt-of the furnace, a passage is provided for hot. gases in the space between the flues.

It is apparent-that if the central space were closed the-hot gases would;

contact substantially one-half of the outer surfaces of the tubes, whereas with the present construction heated gases" can contact the entire outer. surfaces. The cold air return pipes have been designated byreference numerals 3| and the :airenters the-intake'manifold inthe direction .ofthearrows'in Figure 3. A fan 32 can be posi- .tioned in the intake manifold as shown in Figure.3. or in some equivalent position. The fan may:v be controlled by thermostats in the usual manner so. as to be turned on oroff 'in accordance wit-hrthe temperature of "the air in the hot air manifold. Such a thermostat. has been designated-shy reference numeral 33 in Figure 3. Since such thermostatic control .is old and well known, it will not. be described in detail herein. The gas or liquid fuel is conducted'to the nozzle through a. pipe 34thatis provided with the ordinarycontrolvalves now in common useand which are operated in accordance with the temperaturepreveiling in the rooms to be heated; thermostats for this purpose being provided in the usual manner; flues have been shown, but any other-number can :be .used.

Attention is called in particular to the fact that thefstream ofoil or gas fuel is introduced in a tangential or chordaldirection as can be seen from. the drawing. The fuel stream. shouldnot strike the fines directly. The idea is to cause the flame and gases of combustion tocirculate heli- "eally and thereby surround the flues by a whirling The heat that is transmitted to. the wall of'the furnace will be reflected as zasradiant heat. The centrifugal force developed Jay-the gases in their: helical movement. tends to In the present embodiment, four hot air keep them in contact with the inner surface of the enclosing wall and thus a very small part, if any, of the gases of combustion will flow upwardly between the flues. The metal parts are preferably welded to each other and therefore the joints will be absolutely gas tight. If, for any reason, rivets are preferred to welding, such a method of construction can be substituted.

That part of the furnace comprising the two manifolds, the fines and the spiral plate :22 is manufactured and sold as a unit and are combined with the wall 24 at the place of installation.

Having described the invention what is claimed as new is:

A furnace comprising an intake manifold havinga bottom, and a top plate, a plurality of tubular members extending upwardly from the manifold with their lower ends in communication with the interior thereof, a discharge manifold, the upper ends of the tubular members being in communication with the interior of the discharge manifold, an enclosing wall supported on the top. plate of the intake manifold; extending between the manifolds and enclosing thetubular members, the tubularmemb'ers being separated from the inner surface of the wall forming a space, a helical deflector plate positioned in said space andencircling the tubular members, forming ahelical passage extending from near the bottom to the top of the furnace a dischargeflue for gases. of combustion adjacent the top of the enclosing wall, and means near the bottom of" the furnace for directing a flame tangentially into the helical space for movement upwardly towards the discharge flue.

SAMUEL R.-

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PAT N S 

